ILR Salary Threshold: What Skilled Workers Need to Earn in 2026

The ILR salary threshold for Skilled Worker applicants in 2026 is not a single number. Which threshold applies to you depends entirely on when your current sponsorship began — and there are three distinct cohorts, each with different requirements.

Getting this wrong is expensive. An application that fails because your salary falls short of the correct threshold wastes £3,226 in application fees. Understanding your cohort before you apply is not optional.

The Three Cohort System

Cohort 1: Sponsored before April 4, 2024 (transitional threshold)

If your current Certificate of Sponsorship was issued before April 4, 2024, you apply under transitional rules. The general threshold is £31,300, but you must also meet the "lower going rate" for your specific SOC code.

This cohort covers a large number of workers who entered the UK under the original post-Brexit Skilled Worker rules before the 2024 reforms came into effect.

Cohort 2: Sponsored April 4, 2024 – July 21, 2025

You must meet £38,700 or the 50th percentile going rate for your SOC code — whichever is higher. This applies if your current sponsorship started during the mid-phase of the 2024 reforms.

Cohort 3: Sponsored from July 22, 2025 onwards

The most demanding threshold: £41,700 or the full standard going rate for your SOC code, whichever is higher. This also sets a minimum hourly rate floor of £17.13.

Health and Care Workers have a separate framework: those on national pay scale roles (e.g., NHS Agenda for Change) can meet a lower general threshold of £25,000 provided they meet 100% of their pay scale band. Standard Health and Care Workers not on national pay scales follow the £31,300 transitional threshold.

The Per-Pay-Period Rule (New from April 2026)

From April 7, 2026, under Rule SW 14.3B, you must meet your applicable salary threshold in every single pay period — not just as an annual average.

This change was introduced because some workers previously used periods of overtime or bonuses to inflate an average salary that dipped below threshold in certain months. That approach no longer works.

In practice: if you are paid monthly, your gross monthly salary must equal at least one-twelfth of your annual threshold in every month during the qualifying period (or specifically the most recent period the caseworker reviews). If your salary temporarily dropped due to unpaid leave, a pay cut, or a role change, that period may create a compliance gap.

HMRC real-time data is now accessible to caseworkers, so this isn't a theoretical risk — it is actively checked.

The 48-Hour Calculation Cap

When verifying your general threshold (£31,300, £38,700, or £41,700), the Home Office only counts the first 48 hours of work per week. Hours above 48 are excluded from the calculation.

When verifying the going rate for your SOC code, however, all hours worked count — and the salary is pro-rated to the full hours. If you regularly work 55 hours a week but the going rate is set at a 37.5-hour standard, your actual salary must be higher than the stated going rate to pass the proportional check.

"New Entrant" Discounts Expire at Settlement

When you first applied for your Skilled Worker visa, you may have benefited from discounted "new entrant" or PhD-holder rates that reduced your salary requirement by 20%. Those discounts do not carry over to ILR.

At settlement stage, you must meet the full, undiscounted threshold for your cohort. The "going rate" is assessed at the standard 100% level, not a reduced new entrant rate. If you've been relying on a PhD or new entrant discount for your extension applications, verify that your current salary meets the full threshold before submitting for ILR.

Supplementary Employment Does Not Count

Only income from your sponsored Skilled Worker role counts toward the salary threshold for ILR. If you've taken on supplementary employment (permitted under your visa conditions), that income cannot be added to bring your sponsored salary above the threshold.

Your sponsored salary must clear the bar on its own.

Earnings Over £50,270: The Settlement Accelerator

The 2026 "Earned Settlement" framework introduced a reduction mechanism. If your gross salary has been £50,270 or above for the three years preceding your application, you qualify for a five-year reduction on the standard 10-year baseline — meaning you can apply at the five-year mark rather than waiting for ten years.

At earnings of £125,140 or above, the reduction is seven years, allowing ILR after just three years.

This creates a meaningful incentive for high earners to track and document their pay progression carefully, as it can dramatically shorten the path to settlement.

What to Check Before Applying

1. Identify your cohort based on your current COS issue date
2. Find the going rate for your SOC code from the current Home Office Appendix Skilled Worker table
3. Confirm your monthly salary over the past 6–12 months meets the per-pay-period rule
4. Verify that your salary comes entirely from your sponsored role, not supplementary income
5. Check whether your earnings qualify you for the five-year accelerated route

If you've changed jobs during your qualifying period, your new sponsor's COS date determines your cohort — not your original visa grant date. This is a common source of confusion that affects which threshold applies.

What If Your Employer Changed Your SOC Code?

If your employer updated your Certificate of Sponsorship because your role evolved and changed your SOC code, your cohort date may effectively reset. The cohort is based on your current COS issue date — and if that COS was issued recently, you may fall into a higher threshold bracket than you expected.

This catches applicants who were originally sponsored under transitional rates but whose employer submitted an amended COS during an internal restructure or job title change. Check when your most recent COS was issued, not just when you originally arrived in the UK.

Salary Sacrifice and the Threshold Calculation

Many UK employees contribute to a pension or use other salary sacrifice arrangements that reduce their HMRC taxable income below their headline gross salary. The salary threshold for ILR purposes is based on the full gross salary before salary sacrifice deductions — not the reduced taxable pay.

So if your employment contract states £42,000 but your HMRC payslips show £38,000 because of pension contributions, you clear the £38,700 general threshold based on your contract salary. The pension contribution doesn't pull you below the threshold for ILR purposes.

However, ensure your employer letter and payslips both clearly reflect the gross contractual salary, not just the take-home amount. A payslip that only shows net pay without the gross figure can create confusion in a caseworker review.

Timing Your Application Around a Pay Rise

Some applicants approach their ILR date knowing their salary is close to the threshold — perhaps £38,500 against a £38,700 requirement. If a pay rise is scheduled in the next few months, it may be worth waiting.

The 28-day window gives you a runway. If your pay rise takes effect two months before your qualifying anniversary, you can document it in your most recent payslip and submit comfortably within the window. Rushing to submit at the earliest possible day when your salary is marginal increases risk unnecessarily.

The UK ILR Settlement Guide includes the full cohort decision tree, the current going rate tables by SOC code, and a salary compliance worksheet designed to identify gaps before they become refusal grounds.

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